Are you a designer who has an entrepreneurial project that you cannot wait to tell us about? Will your project serve as a 'Synaptic Link' that links ideas, people, designers and industry? Will your project have the potential to make an impact that will reverberate? Do you have more ideas that you would like to share with others including potential stakeholders?

Would you like to travel to Doha, Qatar to present your ideas to an audience of designers and regional / international stakeholders at the Tameem 2011 -- Synapse -- Designer as Link conference during the week of March 21-24, 2011?

Deadline has passed

Who can enter? Students and young designers working with entrepreneurial projects that place design at the core.

Jury A panel of judges will include venture capitalists, successful entrepreneurs, potential investors, leading educators and designers.

Winners If you are one of 12 young entrepreneurial designers/students chosen as final candidates, you will receive:*

• A scholarship to travel to Doha
• Hotel accommodation
• Conference attendance
• A booth to display your project(s)
• Opportunity to speak at the conference and an opportunity to present your ideas to the best potential investors and supporters of innovation in Qatar

* The scholarship will provide funding for one representative on a team to travel to Doha and attend the conference. The winning proposal may have the opportunity to receive seed funding and space to incubate the business at the Qatar Science and Technology Park, Doha, Qatar. VCUQatar reserves the right to use submissions in promotional materials.

1

A Poster that illustrates your entrepreneurial project. Think of your poster as a visual business plan. It should include the name of the project, names of the participants and contact information including diagrams and images/photographs and the components of your business plan executive summary (see below).

Specifications full-color, print quality PDF, A0 format

The following support documents should be submitted in an A4 size pdf document with clearly titled 'Project Proposal', name of participants and contact information.

2

Executive Summary of your business plan that should include the following components:

• Mission & vision -- Why are you working on this project?
  Why are you doing it now?
• Problem/Need -- What needs are you addressing? What niche will this concept serve? Who are you designing it for? (Target audience composition and size)
• Solution/Opportunity -- What outcomes or results do you expect from this design project? Identify potential impact on audience groups. How will the resulting impact be measured?
• Business Model -- Identification of potential interested parties or types of potential investors. What specific business based outcomes, or results, do you expect from this design project? What is the current and anticipated business environment that makes it perfect for this project?

3

Current resume for each team member

4

Brief biography for each team member

5

Contact info including address, email and phone number